If you use Alarm Pro at a location without an internet connection, you may want to manage the amount of Backup Internet cellular data used by your Ring cameras.
Each time your camera records a video and saves it to your Ring account, it takes up data. The amount of data your cameras will use depends on a number of factors including:
- How many cameras you have
- Whether your cameras are facing a high-traffic or quiet area,
- How frequently they are triggered
- Your camera settings
- The length of your video recordings
The following is a list of suggested settings you can adjust to reduce the amount of data used by your cameras. Please note that these settings will not limit the amount of data used, but they can help reduce the number of motion events that trigger video recordings.
Modes
By adding your cameras to modes settings, you can choose to turn off recordings when the system is in Disarmed Mode. You can also customize Home and Away Modes to only record on some cameras, if needed. By changing your modes as you come and go, you’ll reduce the number of recordings throughout the day.
To change modes settings, open the Ring app, and tap on the Menu.
- Tap Devices.
- Tap on the name of a camera.
- Tap Mode Settings, then set the camera to turn on and off recording in each mode.
We recommend turning off recording in Disarmed Mode.
Linked Devices
The more cameras that are linked to Alarm triggers, the more data is used. To reduce the amount of data used, use cameras as linked devices sparingly. Click here to learn more about Linked Devices.
Motion Settings
Adjusting the motion sensitivity for Ring cameras can help reduce the number of times motion is detected, and reduce the number of videos recorded, saving data. To change motion sensitivity, check the Motion Settings for each camera.
Smart Alerts
You can adjust your Smart Alert settings to use less data by choosing Person as the only motion detection that will trigger a recording. Using Other Motion or other settings will result in more data usage.
Advanced Settings
There are advanced settings that an be used to reduce the amount of data your system uses.
- Turn on Advanced Motion Detection in order to create a Custom Motion Detection Zone.
- Navigate to the main motion settings screen in the Ring app, then choose Edit Motion Zones and select only the areas where your camera should detect motion. This will eliminate unwanted motion detection from people passing by or other movement.
Motion Frequency
Set your Motion Frequency settings to Regularly or Periodically to create a delay from the time the camera detects motion, allowing it to wait until it detects motion a second time. This will confirm the movement and the need for a camera recording, and reduce the number of accidental recording triggers as well as extra long video recording, both of which will use data.
Power Settings
There are several Power Settings options to help reduce your data usage by reducing the amount of motion detection and number and length of unnecessary recorded videos.
- Snapshot Capture. Turn off or reduce the frequency of how often the camera records a snapshot.
- Video Recording Length. Reduce the length of each video clip to as low as 15 sec in order to reduce data usage.
Ring Edge
Ring Edge gives you local video storage for select cameras with optional encryption. By locally processing Smart Alerts and storing videos using Ring Alarm Pro and a MicroSD card, you can reduce the amount of LTE data your Alarm Pro is using. Each time you watch a saved videos via the Ring app, it will use LTE data, so keep this in mind.
